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I know, I know…
I know I said, “light blogging” but as you can see I can’t keep my keyboard still for long.
I couldn’t help myself. Especially with THIS post.
Where have all the people who can spell gone?
Outside a long-established dating agency I frequently walk past there’s a new A-frame sign:
“Unattatched? Looking 4 someone to share life with?”
Even if the client (the dating agency) couldn’t spell in the brief, surely someone at the signwriting company is paid to pick up such things as part of their QA or proofing?
I mean, I no nothing’s and know one is purfect, but shirley such a simpel error would catch sum won’s I?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Well sadly, as we all know, long division has suffered death by calculator and the ability to spell is lost in the mire of Word’s spellcheck.
When literature bypasses such computerised correction, human error spills on to the streets. If it wasn’t for the fact it was a dating agency I’m sure you would have stepped in and informed them of their blunder on the boards outside. Doesn’t display a good image does it?
Oh, Lee, I must confess my heart sunk a little when you said you will be going light on us for a month. But if this is your idea of light blogging you’re going to have one happy readership!
As a natural-born pedant, I cringe when I see signs saying “12 items or less” instead of “12 items or fewer.” Disastrous spelling in electronic communications is generally a tip-off that the message is spam. When I read an otherwise intelligent piece which mixes up “its” and “it’s,” and the writer doesn’t have the excuse of not being a native speaker of English, I start to discount what they’re saying. This may not be fair, but it’s true. Anyone who wants to project a professional image should have anything that appears in public proofread by a real live human.
As a former editor of eight years, bad spelling and grammar not only drives me crazy; it makes the thing I’m reading darn near incomprehensible to me. Seeing an intelligent friend write “definately” in her blog or reading an email of an activist friend who Insists on Capitalizing any Word she feels is Important for some Reason I can’t Fathom makes me simply skip the entry or delete the email. Why folks insist on making communication harder by not spell-checking or simply learning basic grammar is beyond me.
Grammar and spelling conventions are there for a reason. Using them properly not only makes you look intelligent; it makes your thoughts comprehensible to others.
/rant